Deuteronomy 1:39 tells the Israelites that the children who were too young to be blamed for their parents’ refusal to enter the land would be the ones to go in and receive it. God is saying that the promise He made to the nation was not canceled by the failure of the adults who first heard it. Moses speaks these words to the generation gathered on the plains of Moab, as he reviews the history of Israel’s journey from Egypt to the border of Canaan.
Moreover your little ones, whom you said would be captured or killed, and your children, who today have no knowledge of good or evil, shall go in there. I will give it to them, and they shall possess it.
Deuteronomy 1:39 (WEB)
What Deuteronomy 1:39 Means
The verse begins by naming a group of people who seemed to have no part in the earlier failure. Their parents had said that these little ones would be taken captive or killed by the people of the land, and that fear had helped turn the nation away from entering Canaan. Now Moses reports that these same children will be the ones to go in. The phrase “who today have no knowledge of good or evil” is a way of describing their innocence and youth, not a claim that they were morally perfect. They were simply too young to have chosen rebellion against God.
The heart of the verse is the final sentence: “I will give it to them, and they shall possess it.” God speaks in the first person, making a direct commitment. The land is not earned by the children’s own strength or merit. It is given, and their possession of it flows from God’s faithfulness to what He had already promised their ancestors. The verse does not promise that life in the land would be free of difficulty, nor does it guarantee that every person in the next generation would remain faithful. It affirms that God keeps His word, even when the people who first heard it do not.
The Context of Deuteronomy 1:39
The book of Deuteronomy is Moses’ final set of addresses to Israel before his death and before the people cross the Jordan River. Traditionally, Moses is named as the author, and the original audience is the generation born in the wilderness, who were about to enter the land their parents had refused to enter forty years earlier. Within this setting, verse 39 is part of a longer retelling of the spies’ report and Israel’s rebellion at Kadesh Barnea.
The verses just before it describe how God declared that the adults who had rebelled would not enter the land, with the exception of Caleb and Joshua. Verse 39 follows directly, giving the hopeful counterpart: the children, whom the people feared would be lost, will go in. Verse 40 then turns the people back toward the wilderness. Reading the verse in this sequence shows that it is not a random comfort but a precise statement of how God’s judgment and God’s promise both work out in the lives of a real community over time.
Key Phrases in Deuteronomy 1:39
Deuteronomy 7:9
Know therefore that the LORD your God himself is God, the faithful God, who keeps covenant and loving kindness with them who love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations…
(WEB)
This verse describes the LORD as the faithful God who keeps His covenant and His steadfast love for those who love Him. It widens the picture of Deuteronomy 1:39 by showing that God’s faithfulness is a settled character trait that extends to generations, not a one-time decision made for a single group.
Joshua 1:5
No man will be able to stand before you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not fail you nor forsake you.
(WEB)
Joshua 1:5 records God’s words to Joshua as he leads the people into the land. It shows the promise from Deuteronomy 1:39 in action, with God declaring His continued presence and faithfulness as the next generation actually takes possession of what He had promised.
A Short Prayer From Deuteronomy 1:39
Lord, thank You that Your promises do not depend on my track record or on the faithfulness of those who came before me. Help me to trust that You keep Your word across the generations, even when I feel anxious about what the future holds for the people I love. Teach me to walk in faith myself, so that those who follow me may see Your faithfulness at work. Give me courage to take the next step You have prepared, and remind me that the inheritance You give is held by Your own hand. Amen.
